by our College Data Analytics TeamHow many Biola first-year students return for their second year? How many graduate and how long does it take them? On this page we'll explore Biola retention rates, graduation rates, drop out rates and more.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 78% students making it past their freshmen year, Biola has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in California, the average is 73.07%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Biola | 78% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| California | 73.07% |
Of the 927 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
After four years 55% of the cohort graduated. After six years 66% had completed their degree, and 70% after eight years.
The official graduation rate of Biola is 66%. This is the percentage of students who completed their degree within 150% of the published time. That means six years for a standard bachelor's degree program.
The average length of time it takes an Biola undergraduate student to complete their bachelor's degree is 4.30 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 723 | 51% |
| Six Years | 927 | 66% |
| Eight Years | 56 | 4% |
| Did Not Complete | 423 | 30% |
Approximately 423 students or 30% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 423 students who did not complete their degree?
2 are still enrolled.
365 transferred to another institution.
Biola lost contact with the remaining 56 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 0.5% |
| Transferred | 365 | 86.3% |
| Dropped Out | 56 | 13.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 50% |
| Asian | 76% |
| Black / African-American | 57% |
| Hispanic | 60% |
| International | 64% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 61% |
| Unknown | 77% |
| White | 77% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at Biola are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Biola University represent 66% of the students in the class of 2015, and 73.35% of Biola bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 55%, first-time students in the Biola class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Biola graduation rate was 73%, and by the eight year mark, 74% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | Biola | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 55% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 73% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 74% | 47.82% |
238 first-time / full-time students or 26% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
215 transferred to another institution.
Biola lost contact with the remaining 21 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 0.84% |
| Transferred | 215 | 90.34% |
| Dropped Out | 21 | 8.82% |
First-time / part-time students at Biola University represent 0.85% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 17%, first-time, part-time students in the Biola class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 25%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, 23.72% after eight years.
| First-Time / Part-Time Completions | Biola | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 17% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 17% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 25% | 23.72% |
9 first-time / part-time students or 75% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
6 transferred to another institution.
Biola lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 6 | 66.67% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 33.33% |
440 Biola students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 31.27% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 54%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 63%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | Biola | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 54% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 63% | 55.07% |
164 non first-time / part-time students or 37% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
135 transferred to another institution.
Biola lost contact with the remaining 29 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 135 | 82.32% |
| Dropped Out | 29 | 17.68% |
21 Biola students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.49% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 29%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 43%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | Biola | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 29% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 43% | 37.80% |
12 non first-time / part-time students or 57% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
9 transferred to another institution.
Biola lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 9 | 75.00% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 25.00% |
